Minor league cards and Jose Altuve... a conundrum.

[AstroJake09]

Hi all,

I'm a big time 'Stros fan, have been since '04 (no I do not claim the 2017 title, the whole deal breaks my heart.) I was looking into some cards of Altuve and remembered that in 2008 he had a scarce and very limited team issued card when he was playing for the Greenville Astros. This is the first record of any card I can find for him at any level and also would have been his first year in the United States.

The card is rarely seen for sale and I actually passed on a graded copy for about $125 a few years back, I feel like I should have pulled the trigger at the time, especially with the way the market is now but hindsight is always 20/20. Plus with the stain that the cheating scandal leaves on a career regardless of the level of involvement, it makes collecting certain high value Astro cards tricky. With that said however, I've recently discovered another copy in raw, NM condition and am interested in pursuing it, I'm just unsure if I should place a hefty value on a minor league card of any player, regardless if it is the first printed card as is the case for Altuve. With everyone collecting flagship and chrome etc. do minor league cards like these still carry value for a guy like Altuve? If we were talking Trout I'm sure that answer is yes, but here I'm unsure. I'm a fan first but it is always nice to have a backup plan for whatever reason when purchasing something like this should I need to sell. So I'm curious as to the opinions on here and if anyone could help me come up with a valuation. Also, if anyone on here has a copy of Altuve's 2008 card, send me a PM!

Thanks and Go 'Stros!

Jake